


Report office romances to HR

by HijikataTrash



Category: GOT7
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Office, Drinking, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting Together, Healing, Jaebum is whipped, Jealousy, M/M, Oblivious Choi Youngjae, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Esteem Issues, Swearing, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-05-19 11:03:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14872556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HijikataTrash/pseuds/HijikataTrash
Summary: A bit affected by the alcohol Jackson forced him to drink, he walked up to his new co-worker. He wanted to thank him for unconsciously saving the state of his apartment, but it didn’t come out like this. At all.“Thank you for being so beautiful.” Youngjae could literally feel his cheeks burn up. Oh my god, he thought, I’m the most embarrassing out of all of us. That’s why he never tried to talk to someone first.





	1. The new guy

**Author's Note:**

> First GOT7 fic I write oooop

     “You know he’s kinda cute,” Youngjae’s silver haired friend whispered. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Bambam was developing a crush on the new guy. But he did know better and the new guy was totally out of his league.

     “What’d you mean kinda? He’s totally smoking hot!” Jackson was almost screaming his words which earned him a punch in the stomach from Yugyeom and face full of spit because the three of them shushed him. “What? You can’t say he doesn’t already know!”

     “Is that a reason to scream it in his face? In the office? In front of everyone?” Yugyeom was obviously pissed off at his childish acts, despite being the youngest himself.

     “In front of everyone? Jesus Yugy, we’re literally seven in here and we all get drunk together at Christmas, what’s the big deal?” Yugyeom shut up and sat back into his chair while Bambam laughed at him for being humiliated.

     Youngjae could only stare at the man who entered the office earlier. They didn’t even know his name yet, but everyone had already tried guessing everything about him. There were even bets about whether he was straight or gay. Most people hoped it was the latter, but no one really thought he was gay. He totally had that typical fuckboy aura. He’d come into the building with his black hair pushed back and black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. Apparently, no one had told him what the appropriate outfit was. The employees laughed a lot and thought he was lost at first. Until he pulled out his employee pass and everyone wondered where the fuck he thought he was.

     Jinyoung, their boss, stepped in and introduced him as the new guy, but with no further information. They guessed they would get a more formal introduction soon enough and didn’t sweat it.

     And here they were, all squeezed in Youngjae’s small cubicle, staring at the new employee, who was talking with the boss in his office. He didn’t seem sociable, Youngjae thought.

     “He doesn’t look like he is here to make friends,” Jackson commented right after Youngjae thought about it.

     “Well were you when you first came here?” Bambam snickered at him. But Jackson only smiled, showing his teeth.

     “To be completely honest with you, yes,” He was the only one to laugh at his attempt of a joke. Everyone turned back to stare at their boss and the new employee.

     Youngjae had work to do and it was way too hot in the room to be cramped behind his small desk.

     “Okay y’all can leave now. Let’s get back to work,” He pushed them out of the little space he had and he wondered why they all gathered at his desk. Yugyeom’s was even closer to Jinyoung’s office.

     “You’re no fun Youngjae!” Bambam complained, but he didn’t really care. They could stalk the new guy all they wanted, just not with him.

* * *

 

     Only three mere hours later, footsteps settled behind Youngjae. He was not in the mood for their bickering. He didn’t even turn around. “Oh my god guys, go harass the new guy elsewhere!”

     The person behind him cleared their throat awkwardly. Youngjae prayed it wasn’t the newcomer.

     “The boss wants us all in the meeting room...so if you could pause your work and come, please,” Youngjae obviously didn’t recognize the voice and assumed it was the new guy. He turned around and realized he was, in fact, right.

     “Yeah, sure,” He tried to hide his embarrassment but he guessed he did a terrible job since the man in front of him smirked. _I hate my life_ , Youngjae thought.

* * *

 

     Jinyoung stood in front of all six of them, papers in hand and glasses hanging low on his nose. The idiot duo known to be Yugyeom and Bambam were fighting in the back about who would sit beside the door, thus getting an outing more quickly. Yugyeom won. Youngjae sighed and leaned in his chair.

     “So, as you all noticed, we have a new employee,” Jinyoung started smoothly. He pointed to the black haired man. “Come up front and introduce yourself.”

     He stood up and found his place beside the boss. He didn’t seem nervous for a new employee. He even looked relaxed.

     “Hi everyone. My name’s Lim Jaebeom and from now on I’ll be working in the accounting department. I hope we all get along, take good care of me,” He bowed down and Yugyeom giggled in the back.

     “He’ll be working with Jackson this poor soul!” Bambam exploded in a fit of laughter, rapidly followed by Yugyeom’s loud screeching. Youngjae caught himself laughing too when he noticed Jackson’s face. He looked really angry.

     “Yugyeom don’t make me come over and beat your ass!” Jackson had quickly turned his chair around to threaten the younger man. Jinyoung sighed.

     “Can you please calm down? I know it’s been hard on Jackson ever since Namjoon left us, so I thought hiring someone new would be a good idea,” Jaebeom just nodded along, shifting from his left foot to his right. “Accounting is hard and Jackson can’t get this two man job done alone,”

     Jackson stood up to protest and Jinyoung simply raised his hand to stop him. The Chinese man immediately sat back down.

     “I’m not saying you’re not competent.  The results spoke for themselves, there’s just too much work for you alone. Please work well with Jaebeom and do not play pranks on him. Yugyeom, Bambam, I’m talking to you!” They both raised their hands at the same time, feigning innocence.

     “Dismissed,” They all stood up and in a matter of seconds were all out. They were all a bit awkward around Jaebeom and no one really seemed pleased to see him.

     However, Mark, acting like the mature one, walked up to Jaebeom and shook his hand. “Welcome to the family!” They smiled at each other and Mark disappeared behind the small walls hiding his desk.

     Jackson pouted and shoved his hands in his pockets. “C’mon follow me. I’ll show you where you’ll be working,” He mumbled something mean under his breath and Youngjae hoped Jaebeom didn’t hear.

     To be honest, Namjoon’s departure had left them all sad and bitter. Especially Jackson, as they were best friends. It took him a really long time to get used to his absence, but even now they all suspected Jackson wasn’t just over it yet. Sometimes he came in the morning with a cup of coffee just like Namjoon liked it. After realizing he wasn’t coming back, he blushed in embarrassment and simply placed it on top of the empty desk beside his own. They’d smile sadly and continue on with their day.

     Jinyoung hesitated a long time before replacing Namjoon. He didn’t want to hurt Jackson’s feelings. He waited for the right guy, someone who could get along with Jackson just like Namjoon did. He cared for his employees, and since they were a small branch with barely any staff, it felt like family.

     Youngjae had to admit it, his boss had done a pretty good job with this new employee. He had the same calm and composed demeanor as Namjoon. He really looked like he and Jackson would get along well. Youngjae wished his department colleagues were…calmer.

     As soon as he thought that, something collided with his back. He already knew who it was. It was always the same people. He didn’t have much choices, since they were only three in the sales department. He only sighed and turned around mechanically.

     “Has anyone ever, in your lives, told you the both of you were a nightmare?” He picked up the stapler that was laying at his feet. Poor little thing never asked to be thrown around by two idiots.

     Yugyeom laughed. “Yeah, like a thousand of times.”

     “How’d you even get this job?” Bambam opened his mouth in the shape of an ‘O’.

     “How dare you! We make the most sales in here.” Youngjae didn’t argue, because he was right. The both of them were good at their jobs, despite their stupidity. People liked them and they kind of weren’t ashamed to use any means to sell their shit. Youngjae sighed for the millionth time today. Could this day get any worse?

* * *

 

     It did, in fact, get worse. The universe is against him, he thought, he must have angered a deity to be this unlucky. He was finally preparing to head home when the tall baby of their branch approached him with stars in his eyes. This wasn’t good. He could tell by the way Bambam’s face was half visible behind Yugyeom’s back.

     The black haired man cleared his throat and crouched a bit. “Mister Choi Youngjae, I—we have a favour to ask out of you.”

     “The answer’s no.” The tall man whined and complained, followed by his best friend. Youngjae ignored them and walked towards the elevator.

     “You didn’t even _listen_ to us!” Youngjae stopped dead in his track, causing the duo to hit his back.

     “Is this about money?” They exclaimed. The oldest of the three turned around and eyed them from head to toe, searching for hints that would give away their plan.

     “Of course not, we would never!” Youngjae snickered sarcastically, thinking back to the times they asked for money and never paid him back. “Just listen, please…”

     They had their puppy eyes, begging for barely a minute of his time and they knew it was his weakness. He stomped his feet childishly and rubbed his temples. “What is it?”

     “Okay, so our apartment building is closed down temporarily because our neighbour had this infestation and we can’t get in until Monday. Will you pleaseeeeee, please, please, please, let us stay with you? Please!” Bambam had spoken so quickly and he was now on his knees begging him.

     He looked beside him and Yugyeom was in the same position. He hesitated. It’s not like he didn’t like his friends—on the contrary, he liked them a lot—it’s just that he had had a long week and he thought he finally had the weekend for himself. He wanted to relax, for once.

     “Can’t you ask someone else?” They shook their heads, because they knew they had won. Youngjae was too much of a good soul.

     “You’re our bestest friend, hyung.”

     “That’s not even a—ugh fine! And stop calling me that.” They jumped in each other’s arms and danced around as if this was worthy of a victory dance.

     “C’mon, dance with us, hyung!” Youngjae chuckled lightly and shook his head. There was no way he was dancing in the middle of the hallway with no music, accompanied by these idiots. No way.

     Or at least that’s how he tried to convince himself. Because here he was, jumping and doing the moonwalk with his friends. Just as his laugh echoed through the empty office, someone coughed, stopping them. They all looked behind them and found none other than Lim Jaebeom, with a wild Jackson following him.

     “So Youngjae’s doing a party at his place?” The aforementioned man tried to tell him this wasn’t the case and it only resulted in more people gathering around the elevator. “Cool, you’re coming right?”

     Jaebeom pointed to himself and he nodded. Youngjae guessed he didn’t have a choice anymore and gave in, much to everyone’s happiness.

     “But no alcohol!” Everyone laughed, with the exception of Jaebeom and Youngjae.

     “Right, you always say that.”

* * *

 

     The night was going much more smoothly than Youngjae would have thought. He blamed his friends’ tamed actions on Jaebeom’s presence. They didn’t want to embarrass themselves in front of him, although it wouldn’t take them long to do so. It was in their nature to just be uncivilized.

     A bit affected by the alcohol Jackson _forced_ him to drink, he walked up to his new co-worker. He wanted to thank him for unconsciously saving the state of his apartment, but it didn’t come out like this. At all.

     “Thank you for being so beautiful.” Youngjae could literally feel his cheeks burn up. _Oh my god_ , he thought, _I’m the most embarrassing out of all of us_. That’s why he never tried to talk to someone first.

     Jaebeom, however, only smirked and raised his eyebrow. “You’re not so bad yourself.” Why were his eyebrows so nice?

     Wait, had he just complimented him? Never mind that, Youngjae just wanted to make it clear that _this_ wasn’t his intention.

     “Thanks for saving my apartment.” The man in front of him looked confused. Youngjae was pretty sure he didn’t understand what he meant at all, because he just raised his glass and left him there.

     “Me and my loud ass mouth, ugh!”

 

* * *

 

 

     His phone rang at 4 in the morning, on a Saturday. He was just trying to sleep and get the alcohol out of his system, could he not do that for once? He answered, expecting his mum to be on the other end. He doesn’t know if he was disappointed or relieved to hear it wasn’t the case.

     “Hyung, what does Mark even do at the company?” He was disappointed, after all, that it wasn’t his mum. It would have been better than Bambam and Yugyeom.

     “How do you not know that?”

     “Just tell us, it’s important!”

     “Yugyeom-ah…it’s 4 fucking a.m. What is so important at this hour?” He heard their muffled laughter and he swore to every god he knew of that he would kill them. He would torture them and kill them. “You know what, I don’t care. He works in HR, do you seriously not know that? You’ve been working together for fiv—”

     The line cut off and Youngjae just threw his phone on the other side of the room. He fell asleep thinking how he’d find new friends to replace these idiots.


	2. A guy’s best friend is his cow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2jae'S first full conversation! Oop

     When he arrived at the office on Monday, it was unusually quiet. Sure, Mondays weren’t anyone’s favourite, but every time Youngjae gets here, somehow Yugyeom and Bambam are already there. Even this morning, he had clearly seen the both of them leave his apartment.

     Before you ask, yes, he had spared their not so innocent lives. He was a good person, after all. He couldn’t just murder his best friends, could he now? He could also not afford to go to prison. So he let them stay at his place and they had a good time together. But they were nowhere within sight and that almost worried him. Almost.

     He would have been if it wasn’t for the faint noise of talking coming from the men’s bathroom. He easily recognized their voices and decided to just let them be. Jinyoung could deal with them when he arrived, it wasn’t any of his business.

     He sat down at his desk and glanced towards Mark’s desk. There was a huge box littered in holes sitting on it. Once again, he decided that it wasn’t in his best interest to get involved with whatever this could be. He wondered if maybe he _should_ give into his curiosity this time. What if a bomb was in there? What if Mark died from…whatever was in there? Mark was a nice guy. He was everyone’s big brother here, he didn’t deserve that.

     Against his better judgement, Youngjae got up and walked towards the suspicious box. He tried lifting it, but it wouldn’t budge. He swore he heard something breathe, but he put the blame on his anxiety. Surely this had to be somehow related to the company.

   After struggling to scratch the tape off, he finally managed to open the box wide open. There was no bomb inside. It wasn’t something that could’ve killed Mark, either. But as Youngjae stood in front of the desk, vomit slowly flowing down from his hair and his clothes, he wondered if death would have been better.

     “Kim Yugyeom! Bambam! Come here or so help m—” He didn’t have time to finish his sentence because the _thing_ from the box jumped and started running round. That’s when his friends decided to come out of the bathroom.

     “Macaroni, stop, stop! Sit down. Give me your hand. Good girl!” Yugyeom lifted the animal off the ground and protectively stuck her to his chest. “Was the trip rough? That’s why you threw up.”

     Youngjae stared in disbelief. “Are you talking affectively to this? What is this?”

     “You uncultured man, this is a baby cow, of course,” Bambam walked up to the small animal. “You don’t know what a cow looks like? I thought you knew everything, hyung.”

     “I know. What I meant is, why is it here?” Youngjae was about to throw up on top of the cow’s vomit. The smell was terrible and he felt sticky.

     “Macaroni is Mark’s. She’s from his parents’ farm and he asked us to bring her over. That’s why we needed to know his department the other day.” Yugyeom shrugged as if it was normal. Who has a cow as a domesticated pet? Mark, obviously. It was strangely exactly like Mark to have a cow as a pet.

     “And…Macaroni knows tricks?” Although he seriously felt sick, Youngjae was genuinely curious and impressed.

     “A bunch of them. Hyung, I’m surprised you didn’t know Mark has a pet cow.”

     “W—what? How did you know that, but you didn’t know he worked in HR?” He was pointing around, trying to make sense of the events. First of all, he was covered from head to toe in cow vomit. Second of all, the whole office must have stank really badly. Third of all, the cow had—oh god—it just took a huge shit right on the floor. Jinyoung would be here soon and, oh, too late. Here he was, followed by Mark and Jaebeom.

     “Macaroni, you’re here!” Mark ran down to his desk and hugged the cow. “Thanks for bringing her here, guys.”

     “Anytime, hyung!” Bambam bowed and giggled, looking at Yugyeom.

     “You can’t…bring your cow in the office, Mark. What if corporate comes by and literally fires all of us? You’re from Human resources, you should know that!” Jinyoung was a calm boss. But after he finished speaking, Youngjae could feel the smoke come out of his ears.

     “Jinyoung, just for today. I’ll bring her to my place tonight, after work, hm? Please! I’ll clean after her.” Jinyoung sighed and silently authorized it before leaving for his office.

     “What about me? I need to get changed and clean up! I don’t have any clothes, ugh.” He tried to shake the vomit off, but the sound of dripping made his breakfast come up way too quickly.

     Bambam pinched his nose. “Maybe you should mind your business next time, sir.”

     Youngjae would have made him eat the vomit off of him if it wasn’t for Jaebeom stopping him, putting a hand directly on his orange, green wet chest. What the hell had this cow ate?

     “I have extra clothes in my car. I’ll get them for you, ‘kay?” Youngjae nodded shyly, remembering their awkward conversation at his flat. “Get in the bathroom, strip and clean up a bit. I’ll be there in five.”

     He couldn’t answer because Jaebeom had already left. He heard Yugyeom whistle and clap in his hands. “Sounds like a date to me, hyung.”

     “Shut the fuck up!” Youngjae stormed off into the bathroom and stripped from his disgusting clothes like he had been told too. He washed his face, his body and tried his best to fit his head in the sink to rinse his hair. It didn’t work brilliantly.

     While he was cleaning the vomit off of him, his mind wandered back to the new guy. He looked undeniably more professional than his first day here. Youngjae had gotten barely a glimpse of his attire, but he still knew his blue dress shirt and black pants were quite…the fit. If he stopped lying to himself, he’d say the outfit suited him really well, even.

     The door suddenly opened and an underdressed Youngjae let out the tiniest scream he ever let out.  Jaebeom laughed, and oh god, why was is laugh so cute? The younger of the two hid his chest with his hands, although it didn’t seem to work really well. Jaebeom only tossed him a pink shirt and black skinny jeans. It looked fine, except for the fact that the new guy had thin legs compared to him.

     “Huh…I don’t think it’ll fit. You—you’re, ugh,” He was searching for his words, not knowing if telling him about his skinny legs would offend him. And that was the last thing he wanted after he showed so much understanding. “Our legs are, hum, different.”

     Jaebeom raised an eyebrow and Youngjae hated the way he did it. It looked way too good. It made him seem even more appealing. For the second time in barely three days, and god knows that was too much, Youngjae thought his eyebrows were nice. Very nice.

     The taller man eyed him —eyed his _thighs—_ and shook his shoulders nonchalantly. “Maybe it’ll be tight, but who cares? It’s either that or cow vomit covered pants. You make the decision, chef.” Obviously, he was teasing him. Even then, he was right and Youngjae would have to settle for pants that would make him look…thick. He hated that word.  

     “Fine,” They stared at each other for a good minute, neither of them moving. Clearly, Jaebeom wasn’t quick to read the room. “Can you turn around, please? Or you can leave. You make the decision, chef.” Youngjae smirked.

     “Oh! Right, sure, sorry,” He did a 180 on himself and whistled. “Wait, did you just imitate me?”

     Youngjae chuckled and nodded, although Jaebeom couldn’t see. “I sure did.”

     “It didn’t sound like me.” He saw him cross his arms from the back.

     “Whatever,” He had just finished putting the shirt on and he was now trying to fit his legs into the pants. Not great. “Hey. Do you think prison’s that bad? Would you see me blending in well?”

     After he asked, Jaebeom suddenly turned round, scaring Youngjae and making him fall on his ass. Of course, the new guy had to be a good person and try to help him. But the younger one was so embarrassed and he just screamed “NO!” before turning around.

     “Sorry, you just caught me off guard with that question. Why would you even go to prison?”

     “I’m planning a murder,” Jaebeom gasped and at that moment Youngjae finally managed to fit in the jeans. He breathed out and when he stood up, felt like the fabric would tear. But it held up together, much to Youngjae’s relief. “I will kill Yugyeom and Bambam.”

     “Aren’t they your friends?” He chuckled again. Youngjae had the sudden burst of wanting to make him laugh like that more. He liked it. “I mean, I don’t have much experience in that domain, but you seem pretty close. Judging from Friday night.”

     “We are ‘bestest friends’ as they call it. I like them, yeah, but damn if they aren’t a pain in the ass most of the time,” He realized what he had heard just then. Jaebeom didn’t have friends? He could have sworn people would fight to just walk by his side. That’s the vibe he gave off. He brought his hand to his mouth and opened it slightly. “That is so sad.”

     “What?”

     “Don’t worry, Jaebeom-ah, we’ll be your friends. You won’t be alone, now!” The black haired man blushed and Youngjae knew he had hit bullseye. He was pretty good at reading people, actually.

     “Yeah. But that’s hyung to you, Youngjae-ah.” Scratch that, he was bad at reading people. He was sure he was older.

     “No way. I don’t believe you.” And that’s how he found himself trying to outrun the new employee to Jinyoung’s office.

* * *

 

     He almost stepped in cow vomit. He almost hit his forehead in the doorframe. He got all sorts of weird, not judgemental, just plenty of weird looks from the other employees. Other employees he barely knew. _Way to make good first impressions, Jaebeom._  

     The run to Jinyoung’s office was short, barely fifteen seconds. But it was worth every second, every step and every breath. What Youngjae had told him in the bathroom a few minutes ago touched him. He already felt accepted and welcomed and it was thanks to him. He was glad that it was this person in particular that became his first friend. Well, Jaebeom considered his friend. He just hoped he felt the same with him.

     As expected, Youngjae arrived first in front of the office and burst in it as fast as a rocket. Jaebeom only stared in disbelief and followed after him.

     “—not older!” That’s what he heard upon entering the small room. Jinyoung looked confused.

     “I’m at least two years older. Minimum.”

     “He is, in fact, two years older. I don’t get why this is such a big deal, though. Jackson, Mark and I are older, too.” Jinyoung ran a hand through his hair. Stylish.

     Youngjae groaned loudly and threw his head back. _Please don’t do that again._ “Because, I thought I had gained a new little brother whom I could teach everything I know. Not the other way around.”

     Jaebeom flashed a smile and bowed to Jinyoung. “I’ll make sure to teach this young one all my knowledge, sir.” Jinyoung only responded with a tiny smile and a wave of the hand. They left the office and headed down the hall where it was more crowded.

     The first to greet them was Bambam, who was eating, strangely, popcorn. A strange choice of snack for a Monday at 9 a.m. They ignored him and continued until they were at Youngjae’s desk.

     “Call me hyung. Once, please. I won’t force you to say it, if you don’t want.” Youngjae chuckled and put a delicate hand on his shoulder.

     “It’s fine, hyung. I don’t mind. Have a good day, see you later?” It was more of a question than anything. He nodded and waved before leaving for his own desk. He had a smile glued on his face and he didn’t hate it.

     Jackson pulled his chair back for him and stared at him for longer than necessary. “What?”

     “I know, man. Youngjae tends to do that to you,” Jaebeom blushed, again, and cursed. How’d it know he had talked to Youngjae? “I just do. He’s a literal sunshine. You just have to be radiant after a conversation with him.”

     “Fuck, do you read minds or something?” They laughed together.

     “I should open a medium kinda thing, what do you think?” They shook their heads at the same time. They both dived into their work after that. Jaebeom’s head filled with images of someone worthy of dethroning the sun.


	3. I hate him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAD TO WRITE THIS SHIT 3 TIMES...I lost the chapter twice and had to rewrite it that's why it took so long lmaooo............enjoy anyway!

     “Show me your tiddies,” Bambam asks to his best friend and no one in the office reacts or cares. It even seems like it’s normal to them. Jaebeom is caught off guard by his demand and he wonders if this isn’t going against HR regulations. He looks to his right and there’s Mark, not even bothering looking up. “C’mon, lift your shirt up.”

     “Why?” Yugyeom is quick to answer, intrigued. He isn’t shocked, embarrassed or even suspicious. He’s just curious.

     “It’s not like it’s the first time, what’s the big deal?” That’s how Bambam answers Jaebeom’s questions. This has happened in the past, thus why no one is reacting. He swears he sees the taller of the duo blush, but he can’t really tell from this distance. He curses whoever decided to put accountants and salesmen in complete opposites of the room. Also, he curses the person who placed the human resources desk right between the two sections. Every single time he turns around to look at the three youngest, he is met with Mark’s side profile. As handsome as the man was, he was tired of seeing his blonde hair and pointy nose unnecessarily.

     Jaebeom catches Yugyeom lifting up his shirt and sitting down on the side of Bambam’s desk. The latter gasps and delicately places his hands on his friend’s abdomen. He wonders just was type of friendship these two have.

     He hears someone sigh and he takes it as his cue to walk up to the other side of the room, straight to Youngjae’s cubicle. Frankly, Jaebeom was a shy person and the fact that he felt so comfortable around Youngjae was a miracle. He was glad it was this person in particular that became his first friend here, even if sometimes, Youngjae was a bit stiff and nervous. He wasn’t really good at hiding his awkwardness.

     He arrives at his workspace and immediately notices how tired the boy looks. Still, he greets Jaebeom with a warm smile. He loved that smile. “What’s up?”

     “Just,” He starts, but he didn’t know why he was here, actually. He had just felt compelled to walk up to him. “What are they?”

     He gesticulated to the ‘idiot duo’ (Youngjae liked calling them that) and crossed his arms.  Youngjae lifts his shoulders and shakes his head. “I have no clue.”

     “I swear they look like they are married,” The boy in front of him laughs and turns his chair around. “I’ll let you do your work.”

     They nod at each other and Jaebeom leaves the small cubicle. On his way to his own desk, he crosses Mark’s and stops in front of it. He tells himself he needs to make friends and actually talk to the people here. If he did, maybe he wouldn’t end up like in his last workplace. He hoped he wouldn’t.

     “Hey. How is Macaroni doing?” He didn’t care about the cow. He just didn’t know what else to say to him. Mark smiles brightly at his question.

     “Great, thanks for asking. Although she needs to leave soon,” Jaebeom nods along, waiting for an outing. “I have no idea how I’ll take her back since I don’t have a car, or a license for that matter.”

     He sees how sad Mark looks and he sees the way he glances around, stressed. And Jaebeom knows he will regret saying this. But he still does it. “I have a license. I could take you both there?”

     Mark is overjoyed at his words and jumps up from his seat. This is the most active Jaebeom has ever seen him be. He’s quite surprised. “You would?” He says, his teeth showing. “Thank you man, I owe you.”

     “Maybe someone else could tag along…” He doesn’t want him to think he can’t stand him, but Jaebeom could never spend three hours in a car alone with a borderline stranger. Not even in his worst nightmare.

     But the blonde man agrees. “Sure, Bambam and Yugyeom would be fun.”

     Jaebeom doesn’t answer, he just nods and crosses his arms. He wasn’t thinking of these two when he asked. His mind was leaning forward to the replica of the sun, maybe. Whatever, he’d ask all of them. Before he left, he remembered something he’d meant to do a while back, when he had just started.

     “Also, could I get a complaint form?” Mark frowns, but he doesn’t ask any questions. Jaebeom is glad he didn’t. He silently thanks him and leaves when he is handed what he needs.

     He walks back to his desk and jumps into work again, listening to Bambam and Yugyeom arguing over something stupid in the background.

* * *

 

     The next Saturday, Youngjae finds himself sitting in the back of Jaebeom’s car, squished between the cow who ruined his favourite white shirt and his boyfriend. Well, by boyfriend he meant fiancé. But he didn’t really like that term, to be honest. It was too formal and too, in-between. He was stuck in between a former boyfriend and almost husband and he kind of hated it. That jerk was taking two years to actually get the wedding going.

     Mark is sitting in the front seat, alongside Jaebeom, who’s behind the wheel. The latter looks weird. His chin is sticking out awkwardly and Youngjae can’t help but think it’s ruining his beautiful face. He slaps the thought away and leans into the seat.

     “Why do I have to ride with the cow? Couldn’t I get in with Jinyoung?” He’s a bit pissed. Just a little bit, but with reason. “The two of us have…a past.” He gives the animal a side look and it moos.

     “Because Bambam and Yugyeom wouldn’t come if they weren’t with Jackson, and Jackson wouldn’t come if he wasn’t with Jinyoung. And that was a full car.” His boyfriend, Minhyuk, was quite relaxed. He wasn’t bothered by the smell at all, nor was he annoyed at Youngjae for acting so childishly. Youngjae honestly didn’t know how to feel about it.  

     Youngjae adds, “Okay, so why didn’t the cow ride with them?”

     “Because she has to be with me.” Mark is quick to answer and Youngjae feels his cheeks burn up in embarrassment.

     “Ah.” Is all he can find to say.

     “Maybe if you didn’t bring your boyfriend…” Jaebeom mumbles, but only Mark hears. He doesn’t question him.

     “This is going to be a long ride.” Minhyuk says. Everyone ignores him. The remaining of the three hour ride is silent.

* * *

 

     “I called shotgun, Jackson! You can’t dishonor a shotgun call.” Jackson only snickers and climbs into the front seat, right beside Jinyoung. Yugyeom looks angry at first, then he lets it go when Bambam pats his back. “Fuck you.”

     He lifts his shoulders. “Anything for you!”

     Jinyoung sighs for what feels like the hundredth time that day, and it’s only 8 a.m. Mostly because Jackson is at it again, trying to get as close to him as possible and entering his personal space unnecessarily. He knows the man is attracted to him, but he doesn’t try to hide it at all. He has absolutely no shame.

     “Jinyoung-ah, how does a hotel room sound to you?” At first he thinks he heard wrong. He raises an eyebrow. “For us, tonight.”

     “The four of us, you mean?” Jackson looks in the backseat, where Bambam is already sleeping on Yugyeom’s shoulder. The taller one is also eye closed, although he can’t tell if they are secretly listening to them. He doesn’t care, everyone knows he is harboring feelings for his boss.

     He looks back to Jinyoung, who is focused on the road. “No. Just the two of us.”

     Jinyoung’s cheeks flash red, but it’s subtle. “We don’t need to spend the night, it’s just a three hour ride. We’ll come back right after.”

     Jackson leans into the seat and stares out of the window. Honestly, Jinyoung still doesn’t understand why they all had to go. Then, he caught Bambam trying to hide in Jaebeom’s trunk and it was quite obvious why he had to come after that. An outing with his employees—friends—would be fun. That’s what he wanted to believe.

     “You’re sexy, Jinyoung.” Jackson says, not too loud, for them to hear only. That’s what he thought had happened, anyway.

     “God, Jackson-hyung, shut up,” Jinyoung hears the two youngest laugh and he knows they were never sleeping in the first place. “You’re disgusting.”

     “What is wrong with you?” Yugyeom adds and giggles, his face so close to Bambam’s it feels like they’ll kiss soon. Nothing happens, though, and Jinyoung shifts his gaze back to the front.

     Soon enough, they arrive to their destination. The country side was never Jinyoung’s favourite place when he was younger. Right now, he thought it was really peaceful and actually ideal. It was far from all these noisy people. Just his type of environment.

     He spots Youngjae from afar and jogs up to him. He is one of the only people he tolerates, even if sometimes he is loud too. Especially paired up with Jackson.

     “Morning, how was the ride?” Youngjae smiles and lifts his shoulders.

     “Not sure. A bit weird maybe, with the cow and all, you know.”

     Then, Jinyoung’s eyes end up on Minhyuk, Youngjae’s boyfriend. He isn’t happy.

     “What is _he_ doing here, Youngjae-ah?” His mouth involuntarily forms a ‘O’. He slaps a hand on his mouth, trying in vain to hide his surprise. He has never liked Minhyuk and with good reasons.

     “Never mind that, did Jackson behave?” At the sound of his name, Jinyoung almost forgets what he was even saying before.

     He scoffs, “Does he ever?” They both laugh. “He tried to lure me in a hotel room.”

     Youngjae explodes in a melody of laughter, which could probably be heard by everyone. Or maybe just by Minhyuk, who is now walking over to them. Jinyoung actually starts running in the opposite direction, unsure of what he would say to that man, if he even deserved to be called one. He was garbage and Jinyoung couldn’t wait for the day Youngjae would break up.

* * *

 

     His smile is gone as soon as his boyfriend is standing right beside him, Jinyoung long gone. He shouldn’t have invited him, it’s still weird between the two of them. He only invited him because at first, he wanted to talk. But they had to get in with Jaebeom and he didn’t want to bother him with his relationship problems.

     “I didn’t think it would hurt you, babe.” Is the only thing Minhyuk finds to say, apparently. It only pissed Youngjae more.

     “I don’t even deserve a sorry, huh? Guess I’m that worthless.” He kicks a rock and starts walking back to the group. A hand grabs his wrist and he absolutely, completely, hates the way he touches him. It makes him sick. “Let go of me.”

     “Stop being a bitch, damn.” Youngjae doesn’t bother turning around, he shakes his arm out of his fiancé’s grip and leaves him there. He notices Jaebeom staring at them, questions hanging on his lips. He doesn’t want to talk about it right now. Maybe another time.

* * *

 

     “We’re actually lost, hyung.”

     “Yugyeom, don’t fucking call me hyung, I will beat your ass,” The black haired man only raises his hands in the air. He only calls Bambam hyung when he doesn’t trust him anymore and Bambam knows. He also absolutely hates when Yugyeom stops trusting him. He is trustworthy. His best friend can trust him, even when they are deep into an unknown forest and even when they’ve been going in circles in said forest for a good hour. He can trust him. “I’ll find the way out, don’t worry.”

     The sky is starting to get dark. Yugyeom is hungry as hell and he is whiny. “We shouldn’t have come here, Jinyoung’s gonna kill us. We promised to act right.”

     “What is he, our dad?” They laugh only for a second. Bambam is a bit scared. Not of the dark, not about the fact that they are lost. No, he is scared of the consequences when they manage to get back. Park Jinyoung is the devil in person.

     “If we die, here or by the hands of our boss, I just wanna say that I love you, Bam.” Bambam gets all mushy, his hands curling inwards and his heart dropping to his feet.

     “Okay, no need to be dramatic, you giant baby,” His friend his staring down at him, his eyes half closed, trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. Bambam is glad he can’t see the state of his face, right now. “Me too.”

     Yugyeom jumps happily. “What? Say it, c’mon!”

     “I love you too…” He mumbles, barely audible. Yugyeom catches it, tough. He is kind of happy he got lost, now. Everything he does with Bambam becomes worth it.

* * *

 

     Jinyoung has never looked this angry in his entire life. He’s standing beside Mark’s dad, arms crossed over his chest and his foot tapping the ground rapidly. If Bambam wasn’t totally scared before, he was now. They managed to find them, way too deep in the forest, according to their co-worker’s dad. They feel sorry, but the look on their boss’ face is also priceless.

     “Jinyoung-hyung, you found us!” Yugyeom exclaims, half sarcastic, half serious.

     “Do you have any idea how worried I was? Do you?!” He’s screaming his lungs out. Bambam shivers in fright.

     “We’re sorry, we didn’t mean to!” They really hadn’t planned on getting lost. It wasn’t one of their pranks, this time.

     “You drive me crazy. You’ll kill me one of these days.”

     Yugyeom knows it isn’t the time to make jokes, but damn if he lets the opportunity slide he’ll hate himself. “Yeah, your heart isn’t good at your age…”

     Bambam wheezes and before they even know, Jinyoung’s running towards them. They scream and start running in the other direction he came from.

* * *

 

     They get to Minhyuk’s apartment at 1 a.m. Youngjae doesn’t answer his goodbye and turns his head around. He meets Jaebeom’s eyes. It felt like he had been staring for quite some time. They were the only two in the car since Mark had decided to go with Jinyoung.

     “I didn’t know you have a boyfriend.” Jaebeom whispers. He isn’t sure why the boy is whispering, but he follows the tone.

     “Fiancé, actually. We’re in a rough patch.” Jaebeom chuckles.

     “Yeah, I noticed,” But Youngjae isn’t laughing like he usually is. “Are you alright?”

     He sighs. His eyes look tired, but Jaebeom thinks it’s normal since it’s late. “I don’t feel like going home.”

     Jaebeom doesn’t know what he is trying to pull at this moment, but he goes for it anyway. “You could always come by. You’re more than welcome.”

     Youngjae smiles for the first time in a while and it immediately warms Jaebeom’s heart. _He_ had made him smile like that. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

     They didn’t stop by his house, even if it was on the way. Maybe Jaebeom was too excited he would finally get some time alone with Youngjae. Or maybe he had just completely forgotten where the boy lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyhey follow me on twitter @moonswonu


	4. Complaints reading and counselling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!!! I hope you all like this chapter.

     Youngjae is busy on the phone with a customer when he receives a notification on his computer. He doesn’t bother looking and closes the tab. He ends the call ten minutes later and completely forgets about it. Until Yugyeom throws a pencil at him, anyway.

     “Hey, check your emails. It’s important.” Yugyeom says and disappears behind the walls surrounding his desk. Youngjae raises an eyebrow.

     He opens his emails and there’s an unread email waiting for him. He opens it and the formal format takes him by surprise since it’s from Yugyeom. He didn’t know the boy could be polite like that.

     The email read:

     “ **From:[yugyplanemoji@hotmail.com](mailto:yugyplanemoji@hotmail.com)**

**To:[bambamforever@gmail.ca](mailto:bambamforever@gmail.ca), [youngjaejaejae@hotmail.ca](mailto:youngjaejaejae@hotmail.ca), [jaesbeoms@hotmail.ca](mailto:jaesbeoms@hotmail.ca), [sexyjackson@hotmail.ca](mailto:sexyjackson@hotmail.ca), [markworkemail@gmail.com](mailto:markworkemail@gmail.com) and [ParkJinyoung23@hotmail.com](mailto:ParkJinyoung23@hotmail.com) **

**Sent at 9 a.m.**

**Object: Important meeting!!!!!**

**Good morning everyone. The following message is to inform you that our monthly meeting regarding complaints reading and counselling will be reported to this afternoon instead of this morning. I know we were all excited about missing the morning shift, but Jinyoung’s punishing Bambam and I for acting like boo boo the fools. Also, he told me to stop saying that since he’s scared of clowns?? Anyway, we hope we can see you all in the conference room at 2 o’clock. Don’t forget, it is the most important meeting of the month!!! I love you all.**

**Sincerely,**

**Your favourite of the maknae line, Kim Yugyeom.”**

Youngjae laughs out loud at the last sentence of the email. He didn’t care about when or where the meeting took place, no, he cared about Yugyeom’s courage for stating he is the most liked out of the youngest. First of all, Youngjae is more loveable. Second of all, Youngjae is less loud. Third of all, not when Bambam exists.

     “Kim Yugyeom, just wait until we get into that room,” He hears the boy laugh just beside him and from then onward, it’s war. “We’ll see who’s the most loved here at the end of the day.”

     Youngjae immediately stands up and walks right to Jackson’s desk, who happens to be directly next to Jaebeom’s. He doesn’t know why he’s taking such offense to Yugyeom’s words, but he really can’t stand it. He loves being loved. And Yugyeom, really? No, that is the ultimate insult to his charms.

     “Jackson, I think I can help you.” The latter raises his head, always happy to stop working, no matter the reason.

     “With what?”

     “Your crush problem,” At his words, Jackson raises from his seat and grabs Youngjae’s hands. He nods, motioning for him to continue. So he does, “I have his personal number and I could give it to you…”

     “Really?” He’s screaming in Youngjae’s ears.

     “Yes!” He follows the tone of the scream which earns him a side look from Jaebeom. He doesn’t care, though. He’s only ever that loud when he’s with Jackson. He can’t help it. “Here, let me put it in your phone. But, promise me you won’t harass him like you did with Mark.”

     Jackson is barely containing his excitement. He’s jogging on place, his smile so genuine that Youngjae almost feels bad for using this tactic to get him to like him more for today. Just today.

     “I won’t! Thank you, thank you, I love you.” He wraps his arms around Youngjae’s body. It’s kind of awkward at first, but then he relaxes into the hug. That’s how he knows this time Jackson might be serious with his crush. Even though Jinyoung is going to kill him, he’s glad he gave his number to him.

     They let go of each other and that’s when Youngjae meets Jaebeom’s eyes. The two of them had grown a bit closer when they spent their Saturday night and Sunday morning together. Nothing much had happened, they just had gotten to know each other. He learned that Jaebeom owned cats, which were really cute. He even said that his cats and his dog could meet. Youngjae had thought over it and deemed it a good idea.

     “When are you coming back over to my place?” Jaebeom asks nonchalantly. Youngjae chokes on his saliva. Suddenly, everyone’s eyes are on them.

     “Oh my god…you’re engaged, Youngjae. How can you do this to Minhyuk?” It’s Bambam, in the back, talking way too lowly. Jaebeom seems to realize how he had phrased his words and turned red. It made Youngjae laugh. At least he wasn’t the only embarrassed one, now.

     “Oh no, that’s not it! I swear I would ne—” Jaebeom starts, but he is cut off by Jinyoung. When did he come out of his office?

     “Who cares? Minhyuk is an asshole. He’s absolute garbage, he disgusts me. I say, good for Youngjae if he’s sleeping with Jaebeom.” The whole time he had talked, he had not once looked up from the book he was holding. Everyone’s mouth were open, especially Youngjae’s.

     No one talks for a good five minutes after that, until Youngjae speaks up. “Mark, I’d like a complaint form, please.”

     Mark hands him the paper silently. No one says anything and the day resumes when Youngjae walks back to his workspace.

* * *

 

     Yugyeom enters the breakroom at noon and it’s only Mark and Jinyoung talking there. It’s not who he expected, but he sees as his opportunity to gain allies for his contest with Youngjae.

     “Mark, your hair are really nice today. How’s Macaroni?” The older beams like a ray of sunshine. If it’s from the compliment or the question, Yugyeom doesn’t know.

     “She’s doing awesome! She loves fall so far. With the leaves and everything.” Mark didn’t acknowledge the praise. He cares more about his cow. He’s already won Mark over with that, he knows.

     “Jinyoung, you were right this morning. Youngjae should’ve left Minhyuk a long time ago. Like, when Jackson asked him out. That should have been his way out.” Jinyoung nods along, his eyes closing slightly.

     “I’m glad you think so, Yugyeom-ah. I thought you’d make fun of me, like always.” Yugyeom fakes hurt by putting a hand on his chest and smiles.

     “I would never, hyung. I love you too much!” His boss grimaces and puts his cup of coffee aside.

     “Stop, weirdo. Talking about love, stop saying you love us in every email you send out. It’s unprofessional.” Yugyeom pouts and sits down. Jinyoung always has something to say about him.

     “See you at the meeting. I hope you and Bambam behave.” Jinyoung says before turning around and leaving. Yugyeom mimics the way he talked and leans back into the chair. The meeting should be fun.

* * *

 

     At 2 o’clock, everyone is gathered in the conference room, sitting and waiting. Bambam walks up front with a folder filled with papers. Yugyeom follows close behind. They settle down behind a table that’s been set up for the occasion and lay out the papers in categories. Or that’s what Youngjae assumes.

     He doesn’t know why they’re still doing this. It had started in January when Yugyeom complained he needed to know what the complaint forms said. He was too curious and jealous of Mark for getting to see them. Jinyoung couldn’t handle his whining anymore and came up with a plan that would allow Yugyeom to read them, but that would still respect H.R rules.

     It was pretty simple, actually. Once a month, the office would gather to read the complaints, but only the anonymous ones. Following that, they would have a ‘counselling session’ to try and solve the problems they’d have listed throughout the meeting. It was going great so far and corporate had even congratulated Jinyoung for his initiative.  

     Youngjae didn’t particularly mind about these meetings. But today was Jaebeom’s first one and it kind of stressed him out. He was worried some stupid things would come up, embarrassing both Jaebeom and him.

     “Gentlemen and gentlemen, welcome to our most treasured meeting here at the JYP branch. We will now begin the reading of complaints.” Bambam starts and Jackson cheers in the back. The way the two are hosting the event is awfully entertaining and Youngjae hates it.

     “Filed on October 3rd by anonymous. ‘Mark, please for the love of god, don’t let Jinyoung hire someone else. How dare his asparagus looking ass replace Namjoon?’” Yugyeom wheezes when he finished reading and it’s not long before Youngjae follows. He laughs so loudly that he snorts. Asparagus really did it for him.

     Jinyoung gasps and looks at Jackson. The brown haired man raises his shoulders. “It wasn’t me, I swear! I would never insult you like that.”

     “It was me…I missed Namjoon. I’m sorry.” To everyone’s surprise, it’s Bambam who’s talking. He’s laughing too and clearly, he doesn’t look really sorry. Jinyoung sighs and waves his hand.

     “It’s okay, you were angry. Although, asparagus? You’re the one who looks like one.” Youngjae snorts again and hits Jackson beside him. He complains and Youngjae tries to calm down.

     “Okay, that’s resolved!” It’s not really, but they go with it anyway. Yugyeom continues, “Written on October 5th by, you guessed it, anonymous. ‘The very thought of working beside Yugyeom and Bambam for one more day disgusts me. Please rearrange the office.’’

     Youngjae looks up to the ceiling and whistles. “Fuck you, you love us!” Bambam says, under Jinyoung’s warning stare.

     “Sometimes.” Is all he says, which makes Jaebeom laugh. He turns around and smiles to him.

     “Should we place the desks differently?” Mark asks.

     “No. They are separated by departments, it’s important to keep them that way to have some order.” Youngjae sighs at Jinyoung’s words.

     “We’re only seven. We know who’s in which department.” He points out, annoyed.

     “Not people from the outside, though. It’s like that and it won’t change, Youngjae-ah.” Youngjae abandons the cause and leans into the palm of his hand.

     Bambam reads some more irrelevant complaints until he gets to the next pile of paper. “This,” he starts, “Were all filed on the same day. There’s a total of six. They are dated October 10th, all anonymous,” Youngjae knows what that date represents, they all know. Except for Jaebeom.

     “Let me read all of them. ‘Minhyuk came to the office again and this time he went too far. I want him to be banned from here and Youngjae’s life.’” Youngjae sinks into his seat, the very thought of that day just awful.

     Yugyeom continues after Bambam. “Next one says, ‘I would deadass sell my soul to the devil if it meant Youngjae would finally leave Minhyuk’s ugly ass.’” Well, that one is strong.

     It’s the next one that hits Youngjae like a damn truck. “This one here is a bit long. Hold onto yourselves! ‘We all know Minhyuk’s cheating on Youngjae and we all know he did some awful things to him and we’re still doing nothing…what the fuck is our deal. We’re as bad as Minhyuk for letting him hurt him like that. Wake up, y’all. It’s time we talk to him. When he came here earlier, it was really the last straw. I’m done trying to respect Youngjae’s decision to forgive him.’”

     Youngjae freezes.

* * *

 

     Jaebeom was really looking forward to that meeting. He didn’t know they did this kind of thing and it was quite entertaining so far. Until those complaints about Minhyuk coming to the office surfaced. Since Saturday, Jaebeom was curious about them and now he felt like he knew too much. Youngjae looked absolutely devastated to be reminded about those things and Jaebeom felt really bad. He felt like his heart was being squeezed and thrown straight to a wall. He hated it. He hated the look on the boy’s face.

     “Can we move on? I want to hear about the complaints of October 14th. When I arrived here.” Jaebeom says, trying to maybe lift the atmosphere a bit. After what felt like hours, Youngjae’s still body moved. He was glad that he had at least unfroze the boy.

     “Okay. There are none from that date, but here’s one from the 17th. ‘I want Choi Youngjae to be scolded. He is hurting my heart with that beautiful face of his. Also, have you seen his smile? I think he is the most handsome man I have ever had the privilege to lay my eyes on.’”

     Youngjae laughs and the flip Jaebeom’s heart does has to be life threatening. “Me? I’m not beautiful.” His laugh echoes through Jaebeom’s head and his chest is burning. If only he could scream just how wrong he was.

     “Who would write that? That’s sappy.” Everyone seems to agree, except Jaebeom who is burning red in the last row of chairs. He’s glad no one can see him because it would have given him away.

     “Let’s end the meeting here, we’ve heard enough.” Jinyoung is standing up as he is talking and everyone follows until Yugyeom stops them.

     “Let’s read this one! It was written today. ‘Hey everyone, stop being assholes and stop meddling in my relationships. I hate it, thanks!’” It’s obvious it’s from Youngjae and it makes Jaebeom giggle silently. It was necessarily rude. Youngjae chuckles and shakes his head.

     “Well, that was one hell of a ride! But, we still need to do the voting for the contest. Sit down, everyone. Youngjae, come here.” Youngjae does as he is told, a smile hanging on his lips. Jaebeom wonders why he’s smiling.

     “I am so gonna beat you, Yugyeom.” He says and the latter smirks.

     “We’ll see,” They exchange a quick look before Yugyeom explains. “You will be voting for the most lovable out of the two of us. Bambam is excluded because we already know he’d win. Please vote fairly!”

     Youngjae rolls his eyes. “We’ll start by Bambam. Who are you voting for?”

     “Is that even a question? Yugy, of course.” They high five, but Youngjae doesn’t count it as a lost. It was obvious he’d vote for his best friend.

     “Mark, who is your choice?” He hesitates for half a second.

     “Yugyeom. I’m sorry, Youngjae-ah.” Jaebeom sees how Youngjae looks surprised of his choice.

     “Okay, then Jinyoung?”

     “I’m gonna have to go with Yugyeom. Sorry, but you’re quite unlovable these days with the whole Minhyuk thing.”

     Youngjae snaps. “Okay, I get it, stop talking about him! I’m guessing Jackson you’re in the same boat?” Jackson nods slowly and that seems to really hurt Youngjae. No one’s on his side.

     Jaebeom stands up and raises his hand. “I haven’t voted?” It’s more a question then anything since everyone had kind of forgotten about him.

     “Say you vote for me or I’m throwing myself out of the window!” Youngjae’s acting dramatically and it makes him laugh.

     “I was going to vote for you anyway. Yugyeom doesn’t even reach your ankle.” And he swears he can see tears gathering in Youngjae’s eyes.

     “You’re my only friend, really.” His voice breaks in the middle of his sentence and it breaks Jaebeom’s heart. The boy had a rough day. He’s glad it’s coming to an end.

* * *

 

     Youngjae catches Jaebeom just before he’s about to enter the elevator. “Hey, I just want to say thanks. For voting for me, I mean.” The older man smiles gently and pets his hair.

     “I was just being unbiased.” Youngjae feels a wave of relief hit him at the moment. He felt like someone finally had his back.

     Youngjae is feeling really grateful in the moment and out of spite, he asks him out. “Do you want to, like, get something to eat with me? My treat!”

     Jaebeom smirks dangerously and gets closer to his face. “Sure. I’m paying, though. You’ve been working hard, you deserve it.”

     Youngjae blushes and nods. “Okay, whatever, let’s do this!” He’s stuttering and he has no idea why. Choi Youngjae never stutters. He puts the blame on Jaebeom’s intimidating aura.

     As they get out of the building, Youngjae receives several calls from his fiancé. He turns his phone off and follows Jaebeom to his car, not minding the consequences it could bring him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wassup i'm seeing Got7 in 9 days im about to CRY


	5. Backstory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHMYGOD!!! I'm excited for this chapter. So huh small warning!! There's mention of domestic abuse and a bit of angst so if you arent comfortable with that pls dont read~ it was necessary for the plot
> 
> Sorry for being late uwu i love you all

 Jaebeom feels heavy when he comes into work that morning. He didn’t exactly know why, but maybe it was related to how he had ran into Minhyuk when he entered the building. Jaebeom didn’t expect the man to recognize him until he waved to him.

     “Hey. Jaehyung, right?” Jaebeom’s face grimaced awkwardly. Minhyuk obviously messed up his name on purpose.

     “Jaebeom, actually. How are you?” He didn’t care about his wellbeing nor would he ever. He just wasn’t a rude person, unlike other people.

     “Great, thanks.” He eyes Jaebeom from head to toe, without asking how he is doing. Jaebeom wants to leave.

     Instead of that, he clears his throat and shoves his hands in his pockets. “Are you here to see Youngjae?” He expects at least a nod. The only thing he gets, though, is a shake of the shoulders. Minhyuk flies by past him and he doesn’t see him again for the whole day. What an odd person. What Youngjae had seen in this guy, Jaebeom would never know.

* * *

 

     He immediately knows something is wrong when he gets out of the elevator. The whole room felt like an apocalypse had befallen the earth. It was impossibly dark, even if no lights were out. The atmosphere was indescribable, Jaebeom just knew he hated it. He hated the way no one was talking. Hell, even Bambam and Yugyeom were silent. It just wasn’t normal.

     Jaebeom drops his bag on his desk and leans toward Jackson. “Morning.”

     The man barely allows him a side look. “Ah…Jaebeom.”

     “Damn. What’s with you all? Did someone die?” He laughs, trying to light up the mood a bit. It doesn’t work.

     “Youngjae didn’t come into work,” Jackson whispers, not sure himself why he is being quiet. “Last time that happened was…not a good day for any of us.”

     “Did you call him?” Jaebeom asks. He’s hiding how panicked he is, because the tone of his friend’s voice was anything but reassuring. “What happened last time?”

     Jackson’s about to answer until a hand grabs him from behind and covers his mouth harder than necessary. Yugyeom’s standing in all his glory, trying in vain to avoid Jackson’s teeth. The latter finally manages to bite Yugyeom’s hand.

     “What the fuck, Yugyeom?” The youngest raises his arms in defense, whining about the mark Jackson left with his pointy teeth.

     “You know Youngjae doesn’t want us to talk about it. It’s up to him to tell Jaebeom or not.” Jaebeom sighs and lets it go as well as Jackson. He decides he’ll call him on his break.

     He sits back in his chair and turns his computer on. The day seems like it’s going to be long, especially since Youngjae isn’t here. Now Jaebeom understands why the room looked darker than usual even if every light bulb in the office were on. Youngjae wasn’t here.

     His break comes faster than he expected. His watch beeps for a few seconds and it’s his cue to make his way to the break room, where Mark is already sitting in. He smiles to him, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s still not sure how to approach the older man, but Mark doesn’t seem to notice the awkwardness.

     Jaebeom takes his phone out and composes Youngjae’s number, which he knows by heart. The line rings for a while until a weak voice answers.

     “Hi,” His voice is better than Jaebeom expected and he feels relieved. “What’d you call me for?”

     Jaebeom scoffs. “Why do you think?”

     “Hum,” He hears Youngjae fake think and it’s more than enough to melt Jaebeom’s heart. “Do you miss me?”

     Now this is just plain, straightforward flirting. It takes everything in Jaebeom to not run out of the building and scream. He tries to sound normal when he answers, because damn if his throat didn’t feel clogged right now.

     “Are you okay?” It’s shaky and you can clearly hear the concern in his voice.

     “Yeah, I’m bed ridden for a few days. I’m really sick. Jinyoung knows, you could’ve asked him.” He feels stupid because he hadn’t thought of that. But he’s glad he called Youngjae and got to hear his voice. It felt like forever since he had heard it, even if it went back to yesterday only.

     “Oh, that’s too bad. I hope you feel better soon!” After that it’s kind of awkward and none of them says anything. Then, Jaebeom says something that you could consider stupid. “I ran into Minyuk at the office earlier. Thought he was here to see you…I guess not.”

     He hears Youngjae breathe deeply. When he finally says something, his voice is trembling and it sounds sicker than before. “Oh, he said he was going to the grocery store, not the office…”

     “I’m sure he went after! It’s surely not a big deal, don’t worry about it, Youngjae-ah.” Jaebeom tries to make amends for his mistake, but Youngjae confirms one of his fears right after.

     “Not a big deal my ass! He’s going to see the janitor, because that’s who he cheated on me with. Like, yeah, he’s hot, so what? I’m still his fucking boyfriend and he just goes and—God, sorry I’m ranting.”

     Jaebeom doesn’t mind at all, but he can’t find it in him to say it. “Are you sure you’re really sick? It’s not because of something else, right?”

     He keeps thinking back to Yugyeom and Jackson’s small argument. What had happened last time he missed work? Was he sick or was it for some other reason? He was quite curious and almost asks Youngjae about it, but he decides it’s the opposite of what he should say.

    “It’s half true half false. As long as Jinyoung knows it’s okay.” Jaebeom had never wished he was someone else more. He wasn’t usually this nosy, but Youngjae brought out sides of him he didn’t even know.

     “Can I come by after work?” Jaebeom just needs to see his face.

     “Sure, I’ll wait for you.” Jaebeom can actually see Youngjae smile prettily in his head. God, he is whipped.

* * *

 

     “Let’s make a bet!” Yugyeom exclaims when he reaches the breakroom where Bambam is eating his snack. The latter has his hands full, milk in one hand and gummy bears in the other. “Ew, are you eating those at the same time?”

     “That’s none of your business,” He snickers and Yugyeom hits him in a friendly way. “What kind of bet?”

     “Whoever makes the most sales this week can get whatever he wants and the loser has to comply,” Bambam nods his head along and breaks into a huge smile when Yugyeom is done. “Okay, what do you want if you win?”

     Bambam already knows what he wants. “If and when I win, I want you to buy me tickets to Red Velvet’s concert!”

     Yugyeom gasps and complains. “Those are soooo expensive!”

     “You said whatever I want.”

     “Fine. If I win, though, you have to let me take you out on a date.” Bambam grimaces.

     “We always go on dates.”

     “No, I mean, a real one. An official, romantic, date.” Yugyeom finishes his sentence and Bambam blushes and it makes his friend laugh. Bambam hates the confidence Yugyeom has.

     He stutters. “O—Okay. If it’s what you want.”

     “Great, let’s get to work then! I hope you’re ready to get spoiled rotten on that date.”

     Bambam retorts, because he won’t let his best friend win that easily. “And I hope you have enough money for me to see Seulgi up close!”

     They both laugh and exit the room, where a dumbfounded Jinyoung has been sitting the whole time.

* * *

 

     Jinyoung doesn’t go to Jackson first often. Only when there’s something urgent going on and right now, it’s more than urgent.

     Jackson welcomes him with his arms wide open. Literally.

     “I’m not here for a hug,” He lets his arms slide down to his side and pouts to his boss. “I need information.”

     “I can spill all the tea you need. But only for you!” Jinyoung ignores the last bit Jackson says.

     “What’s up with Yugyeom and Bambam? I really thought they were married, like for real. But I heard them talking about going on their first real date. What the heck?”

     Jackson jumps up from his seat. “They’re going on a date? A romantic date?”

     “No, they bet they’d go on one if Yugyeom wins or whatever. It’s not important. What’s their deal?”

     “Ah,” Jackson sits back down and sighs. “They’ve been pinning after each other for years. I caught them kissing so often, you don’t even know! But, Bambam has some commitment issues so they’re really just best friends who happen to kiss sometimes.”

     Jinyoung looks at his feet and crosses his arms. “That is really sad.”

     “I know!” Jackson is worked up now and he looks angrier than the people directly concerned. “I’ve been waiting for them to figure it out for years, god. I hope Yugyeom wins that bet.”

     Jinyoung turns around and stares at the two friends, who look like none of the things Jackson explained ever happened. He feels really bummed out by their situation.

     “Me too.” He says. It’s really out of character for him to meddle with his employees’ business, but hell if he doesn’t love his younger brothers. He just wants them to be happy.

     That’s how he ends up looking at Jackson, who is, too, looking at Yugyeom and Bambam. The issue is the same with him, after all. Except instead of having commitment problems, Jackson trusts and loves too easily. In the six years he’s been working here, Jackson had a crush on everyone here. First it was Mark. It took him a full year to get over his never happening crush. Then, when they arrived, he crushed on Yugyeom and Bambam, at the same time. How you may ask, Jinyoung doesn’t know. But it lasted a few months only.

     When Youngjae got engaged, Jackson started developing another crush on the boy. He asked him out a few times and after getting rejected more than the average man should ever, he gave up.

     Jinyoung hired Namjoon a few months after. It wasn’t long before Jackson fell head over heels for the guy. The rest of the story is just like the others, except Namjoon actually reciprocated Jackson’s feelings. They dated for a year and a half until Namjoon left the company for a better position in a better company in another country. He left Korea and moved to the United States, where his skills were high in demand, apparently. Jackson never really moved on and insisted that everyone referred to Namjoon as his best friend instead of his ex-boyfriend. Everyone complied.

     This is what brings them to Jackson’s newest victim, Park Jinyoung. He didn’t know what Jackson saw in him, because he honestly didn’t have that much to offer. He also didn’t take him really seriously, since Jackson had pretty much liked everyone in the building.

     But after hearing about Yugyeom and Bambam, Jinyoung felt compelled to just indulge in Jackson’s demand. Just once.

     “Okay. Let’s go on that lunch date you’ve been harassing me for.” Jackson’s eyes immediately go to Jinyoung who is nervously taping his foot. He thinks he is dreaming for a second.

     “Seriously?” Jinyoung nods and bows a bit.

     “After you, Jackson-ah.”

     Jackson trips on his way out and squeals when his boss helps him up. Jinyoung wonders if this was really a good idea.

* * *

 

     Jaebeom didn’t go to Youngjae’s place at the end of his shift. On his way out he met yet again Minhyuk, who had his tongue deep inside the janitor’s mouth. Jaebeom felt sick and angry. Youngjae was alone in his apartment, sick and probably still worried about Minhyuk supposedly cheating on him and here he was—doing exactly that. Jaebeom felt possessed in that moment, he didn’t know what took over him.

     He heard the door behind him open and that’s like it was all it’d take him to trigger him. He automatically dropped his bag on the snow and walked towards Youngjae’s fiancé. He grabbed his shoulder and turned him so he was facing him. The next thing he knew, his fist was flying to Minhyuk’s face. He thought he actually heard something crack. He was happy even if his hand hurt an awful lot. Minhyuk was a few centimeters taller than Jaebeom, so he easily pushed him to the ground and threatened to destroy his pretty face. Those were his words, anyway.

     He only had time to land a few hits before Yugyeom pushed him off of him and restrained him to the ground while the janitor called the police.

     “You’re a disgusting piece of shit! You make me fucking sick!” Jaebeom screamed while Jackson held him back so he wouldn’t do any more damages, even if Jaebeom’s face was more hurt.

     “Yet Youngjae still prefers me over you, huh?”

     Jaebeom’s blood boiled at the words. He didn’t like Youngjae. He was a good friend and he reacted so impulsively because he –

     Because he likes him.

     He shook Jackson off easily and walked towards the building behind them. Minhyuk wasn’t worth it. None of this was worth it and it bothered Jaebeom how violently he had reacted. Now the police were surely on their way and he’d get in trouble for one little punch to the face.

     Youngjae really brought out sides of him he doesn’t know.

* * *

 

     Youngjae arrives at the police station when the sun is starting to set. It’s only a little over 6 p.m. and yet the sun is already disappearing. He doesn’t like winter all that much.

     He enters the building frantically, not sure what he should expect. No one had told him the details of his summoning here and Jinyoung’s worried voice over the phone told him it wasn’t Minhyuk this time.

     He feels relieved and concerned when he spots Jaebeom sitting in front of an officer, throwing his hands around like a mad man. He also spots the bruises on his face and his right hand. He’s about to walk over to him when an arm wraps around his shoulder. He quickly turns his face and around and sees Minhyuk’s face mere inches away from his. He almost throws up.

     “What are you doing here, babe?” he asks, like his face isn’t a bright purple and his nose going in directions it probably shouldn’t.

     Youngjae pushes him off and stops walking. “What am I doing here?” He’s angry. He’s so fucking angry it hurts his chest. He looks back to Jaebeom, who’s now looking at the two them too. In fact, every eye in the room was on them. Youngjae had screamed his words without noticing.

     Then he connects the dots. He realizes why Jaebeom is all bruised up meanwhile Minhyuk looks mostly fine. He looks around the room and sees all of his friends and the janitor. It all makes sense and he feels stupid. So stupid.

     “You beat up Jaebeom? You fucking fought with Jaebeom?” His head feels lightheaded and he blames his sickness. Getting so worked up wasn’t a good idea, but he couldn’t stop himself now. “Hitting me wasn’t enough, you sick bastard? You had to go and punch Jaebeom?”

     Minhyuk panics because of his words and he tries to silence him, but Youngjae is on a roll and god forbid he stops now. He sees Jaebeom standing up in the corner of his eyes and he just raises his hand to motion for him to stay there. This is his battle, not anyone else’s.

     “It was only once, that’s what you want to say? Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you! I hate you, I don’t know why I put up with you for so long, you son of a bitch.” He lets out all the pent up rage he has inside of him and it makes him feel good.

     “He hit me first, Youngjae-ah.” Youngjae is about to puke. He doesn’t know if it’s because he’s still sick or if it’s because of Minhyuk, but he is going to.

     “You still won’t apologize?” He looks into his eyes and he sees nothing. No pity, no sadness, no regret, not even anger. There’s nothing left here. He lost four years to this stupid asshole and the thought alone is enough to make him run outside and throw up on the grass.

     At first he thinks Minhyuk followed him. He’s about to tell him to fuck off, but when he feels a gentle hand on his back, he knows it’s not him. Minhyuk was never gentle with him.

     “I’m sorry.” It’s Jaebeom’s voice and it immediately soothes Youngjae’s heart.

     Youngjae wipes his mouth and sits on the ground a bit further from the police station. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. You shouldn’t have witnessed…that.”

     He feels ashamed that he broke down like this in front of everyone, especially Jaebeom. This is the epitome of ruining your reputation.

     “It’s okay, he had it coming after all.” Jaebeom chuckles ever so slightly and it almost lifts Youngjae’s mood entirely.

     “Are you okay? It looks like it hurts.” Youngjae asks, pointing to his face and his knuckles. His hand goes to Jaebeom’s face automatically. He barely touches him, but it’s enough to make his heart flip.

     “It’s only a few bruises. I’m not in any trouble either. Minhyuk, though…” The smile Jaebeom offers Youngjae makes him smile too. The thought of his _ex-fiancé_ getting what he deserves more than pleasing.

     Then he feels his eyes closing, even if it’s early. “I should go home.”

     Jaebeom stands up and offers his arm. “I’ll help you there. I can’t have you falling asleep on the sidewalk in the middle of winter.”

     Youngjae chuckles and it surprises him how easily that came out. He had expected to feel down for a while before even cracking a smile. Jaebeom was one of a kind, to make him laugh in this situation.

     “Thank you, Jaebeom. For everything. And I’m sorry you got beaten up because of me.” Jaebeom gasps.

     “I did not get beaten up! I had the advantage.” Youngjae laughs again and damn, does it feel good.

     “Sure you did, if that makes you sleep better at night.” Jaebeom doesn’t say anything more, he just stares at the boy, who’s holding his arm for better support.

     He thinks about what just happened and how Minhyuk must be angry at Youngjae. It doesn’t feel right to let him go alone to his apartment in his state.

     “Hey,” Youngjae hums in answer. “Want to come by to my house for tonight?”

     Youngjae hesitates only for half a second before answering. “Sure.”

     Jaebeom silently screams and redirects them to his house’s way.

* * *

 

     They’re sitting on the couch, Jaebeom with an ice pack on his face and Youngjae eating ice cream. Jaebeom’s unusual curious nature pops ups and he thinks it might be the right moment to ask questions about Youngjae’s previous relationship.

     “Can I ask you a question?” Youngjae bites into his ice cream and nods. “Did he really hit you?”

     “Yeah…” Jaebeom nods, feeling like he knew too much already. He didn’t want to pry in and make the boy uncomfortable. “It happened just once. It was really bad, though, and I had to miss work for a few days under the pretense that I was sick.”

     Jaebeom drops his ice pack. That’s what Yugyeom and Jackson were so fussy about this morning. God, if Jaebeom didn’t hate Minhyuk before, he sure as hell did now. He regrets not hitting him more.

     “I’m so sorry this happened. It must have been awful,” Jaebeom starts. He decides against his better judgement to continue his prying. “Why did you stay with him even after all that?”

     Youngjae sighs. “I guess I was scared of being left alone. But when I learned he hit you that was too much. He crossed the line when he decided to involve my friends.”

     Jaebeom’s heart starts beating faster. Youngjae cared about him that much. “You’re not alone, you know.” And he wants to scream _I’m here, Youngjae-ah, I’m here!_ But he doesn’t.

     Youngjae smiles and it’s a huge smile where his eyes close in the shape of crescent moons and his mouth curls upwards like a kitten. “I know, Jaebeom-hyung.”

     That’s all it takes for Jaebeom to close the distance between them and kiss Youngjae.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cliffhangers are my kink
> 
> just an fyi, i dont intend on making this a slow burn or too long. This probably won't go over 15 chapters!!


	6. Our aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jenn culture is being late with every update
> 
> To be fair tho i rewrote this like three times because i wasnt satisfied with it and its still lowkey the case but huh....

     Youngjae doesn’t push Jaebeom away immediately. He lets himself get lost in the way Jaebeom delicately places his hands on his cheeks and licks his lips. He lets him deepen the kiss, lets him get closer to his own body, until he can’t tell where he ends and where Jaebeom starts. He lets himself get dizzy by the way his _friend and co-worker_ kisses him. That’s when it clicks in his head. He is kissing his friend and he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t be kissing anyone for a long time after the horrible situation he just got out of. This shouldn’t be happening.

     “I can’t do this,” Youngjae whispers, mostly to himself, but to Jaebeom, too. “I’m sorry.”

     Jaebeom can’t say anything, can’t respond a thing without being completely incomprehensible. He stutters, trips while standing up and gets hit with the door when Youngjae smashes it in his face. He stays speechless in front of the door, wondering how he could be so stupid. The guy had just broke up with his abusive fiancé and here he was, pulling him into a kiss.

     He pulls his phone out and sends a bunch of texts to Youngjae, asking him to go sleep to Bambam and Yugyeom’s for tonight. He gets no answer, as expected. He tries to call him but it goes straight to voicemail. 

     A few hours go by before he receives a text from Yugyeom. He opens it as fast as he can.

     **From: Yugyeomie**

 _(8:46PM)_ _I’m not supposed to be talking to you but I assumed you were worried. Youngjae’s with Bambam right now, he’s sleeping. Is he sick? He threw up twice when he got here???_

Jaebeom can feel every limb and muscle in his body relax all at once. Youngjae had listened to him and went to somewhere safe.

     **To: Yugyeomie**

 _(8:47PM)_ _Yes he is … or maybe I just disgust him that much._

**From: Yugyeomie**

_(8:54PM) Hyung. What did you do? He wouldn’t talk to us he just cried and threw up_

Jaebeom drops his phone on the ground. He made Youngjae cry. He made the person he likes cry because he kissed him without a warning. He feels so stupid.

* * *

 

     Youngjae wakes up and it’s still dark outside. He feels dizzy still and the taste in the back of his mouth almost makes him throw up again. But he forces it down, he threw up enough to last for the rest of the year. He tries to sit up in the bed he’s lying in, but an arm spread across his chest stops him. He looks to his right and he’s met with Bambam’s silver hair. Then to his left, where Yugyeom is looking at him with sad eyes. He assumes the arms and legs laid on him are his friends’.

     “It’s still pretty early, you know. You should sleep more.” Yugyeom is whispering so lowly it’s hard for Youngjae to decipher his words.

     “What time is it?” Yugyeom fishes his phone out from under the blankets.

     “2 in the morning. You’re sick, just sleep some more.” Youngjae stares into Yugyeom’s eyes and he sees the worry in them. He knows something is bothering the boy, he just knows.

     “What’s wrong?” It’s simple really, a really simple question. But it forces tears out of Yugyeom. He was always sensible, it’s pretty common for Youngjae to see him cry. But it doesn’t feel quite right.

     “It’s just,” Yugyeom sniffles loudly, it almost makes Youngjae laugh. “It’s because you—” he cuts himself midsentence because Bambam is now laying on his side so he can look at the both of them.

     “Yugy, you said you wouldn’t cry…” Bambam’s voice is soft and although he isn’t scolding Yugyeom, it still feels like it.

     “I can’t help it! Youngjae suffered so fucking much and we didn’t do anything! We just sat and watched the whole thing unfold like were strangers. We’re best friends, goddamn it. We should’ve done something.” Youngjae starts crying too when Yugyeom’s done. It’s far from being their fault; it’s all on him. Everything that happened is his fault. They just did what Youngjae asked them to do; nothing.

     “Yugyeomie…” Youngjae starts, but Bambam cuts him off.

     “Do you hate us?” The thought alone is so ridiculous it makes Youngjae giggle through his tears. Yugyeom must think it means yes, because he starts crying even harder.

     “Hyung, I love you, I love you!” The giant hugs Youngjae’s side like he is some type of teddy bear. Soon enough, Bambam does the same thing and clings himself to his older brother.

     “I’ll even kill Minhyuk if that means you can forgive us,” Bambam whispers, burying his face in Youngjae’s shoulder. The mention of his ex makes him cringe, but he doesn’t comment on it.

     Youngjae sighs and wraps his arm around his best friends. “I could never hate you even if I wanted to. Please stop crying, please, please!”

     At that, Yugyeom lifts his head to look at Youngjae. “Are you sure?”

     “Yes, a hundred percent sure.” Yugyeom hugs him even tighter, if that was even possible. Bambam just stays where he is, until suddenly his head pops up.

     “What happened with Jaebeom? I thought you were spending the night.” The question is innocent, it’s enough to make Youngjae cry again.

     “I just panicked, he was…he kissed me,” His friends gasp at the same time. “It was so random and at first it felt so good and then—then I felt disgusting. I felt pathetic and dirty. I know it’s _his_ fault,” he doesn’t say the name, but everyone understands. “He made me feel like I didn’t deserve to be loved and I can’t shake the feeling off. I’m not strong enough. I’m not okay.”

     It feels good to talk about it. It feels good to finally share some aspects of the hell he’s been living in for years now. It feels euphoric to talk to someone about his true feelings. It feels good to say it aloud now; he’s not okay. He never was in the first place.

     “Hyung, did you say that to Jaebeom?” Youngjae seems to remember the previous night just now. He just ran out like a coward. “You deserve to be loved, more than anyone and anything. You deserve to be happy, like so much, it’s crazy!”

     Bambam’s voice is shaky and he avoids looking at Yugyeom, that much Youngjae notices. He wonders if there isn’t another layer to his words, but he lets it go for tonight.

     “I just want to sleep. I want to sleep and never wake up.” At first he wanted to run out and yell at Jaebeom that he did nothing wrong. Or yell at him that he did everything wrong. He wasn’t sure, his mind was going too fast for him to keep up and everything felt like too much.

     With tears falling on his cheeks, Yugyeom wrapped his long arms around Youngjae. Bambam did the same and they all fell asleep like this. Youngjae dreams of dark eyes and split lips on his own that night.

* * *

 

     The next day, Youngjae misses work again. The same thing happens for the whole week. Then the weekend passes by and it’s Monday again. No one’s happy when they enter the building, expect for Yugyeom and Bambam, who are fighting all the way to Jinyoung’ office.

     “Did you get me front row tickets, Yugyeom-ah?” The latter snickers.

     “Did you choose your outfit for the date, Bambam-hyung?” He punctuates the hyung, because he knows how much it pisses him off. Bambam clenches his fists and opens the door of their boss’ office wide. Jinyoung is startled for a second, it takes him a moment to talk.

     “Sit down. I’m still comparing your sales numbers.” The two friends listen and sit down diligently in front of Jinyoung’s desk. Yugyeom steals glances at Bambam the whole time they’re in there.

     Yugyeom would never force his best friend in the whole wide world to do something he doesn’t want to. If he wins and Bambam protests and refuses to go out with him, he’ll comply. He just wants the boy to be happy, even if it’s at the risk of his own happiness. He thought this would be a good idea to finally get Bambam to consider him as a potential lover. He just doesn’t understand how he can be so oblivious.

     How many times had they kissed? At first it was only when they were drunk, and both of them seemed okay with it. Then, Bambam didn’t want it to happen ever again. Those were his exact words. He probably wasn’t as attracted to Yugyeom as he first thought. “It was a mistake.” At that, the youngest couldn’t help but laugh at the time. It was a mistake that happened repeatedly, apparently. Clearly they didn’t have the same definition of mistake, because Yugyeom deemed it the best few seconds of his life.

     Bambam hit his shoulder more forcefully than necessary, bringing him out of his thoughts. His eyes immediately went to Jinyoung, who had a suspicious eyebrow up. The half-smile glued to his face told him everything he needed to know. He had finished comparing their sales numbers.

 

* * *

 

     A few days prior to the announcement of the bet’s winner, Jinyoung went to Jackson for the second time in a week. That was the most he ever initiated conversation with the boy. He kept asking himself what his deal was, until he decided that it was in everyone’s best interest. He was risking his sane love life for his employees, it was reasonable.

     “Jackson, I need to talk to you.” It’s the only thing he says to him and it spurs a melody of complains from the man.

     “What did I do this time? I’ve been on my best behaviour! Did I make a mistake? Am I fired?” He raises from his seat. “Please don’t fire me!”

     Jinyoung laughs—a real laugh, not his usual awkward one—at how confused and panicked Jackson is. He wasn’t used to him looking so under confident. He liked this side of him.

     “Calm down, I just need advice concerning…our youngest employees,” He looks to his left where the two of them are sitting. Jackson simply nods, inviting his boss to continue. “They asked me to compare their sales next week and to announce the winner of the bet. I was wondering if I should, huh, don’t judge me okay?”

     Jackson nudges his side. “I would never judge you.” The smile he wears is so endeared towards Jinyoung, it almost makes him blush.

     “Should I just let Yugyeom win no matter the result? Just to help them push through with their first date and—” He doesn’t have time to react before Jackson is grabbing his shoulders and hugging him. It’s only for half a second, but it’s enough to make Jinyoung feel things he shouldn’t. “W—what?” He wants to scream, why did he stutter?

     “You’re such a good person. You always say they’re annoying, but you really care about them, huh?” Jinyoung mumbles something, but it’s not loud enough to be understood. “I just fell in love all over again.”

     Jinyoung groans, knowing it was only a matter of time before he’d say something like that. He lets it slide and presses him on. “What do you think?”

     “I always support your ideas, you know that.” Jinyoung rolls his eyes. At that, Jackson retorts. “It’s a good idea, though. Do it!” He raises his thumbs and smiles brightly. Jinyoung decides it’s enough for today and just leaves Jackson’s cubicle and heads into his office. He’ll just do it.

* * *

 

     Bambam’s leg is bouncing frantically. He doesn’t know why he’s nervous. He doesn’t know what to expect and he sure as hell doesn’t know if he even wants to win. The bet was stupid and he feels bad for asking Yugyeom to buy him such expensive tickets. He also wants to go on that date, god he wants to so bad. He doesn’t want to win. He wouldn’t admit it, though. He probably has the lowest sales ever recorded in the history of ever. He’d say he may have got two whole sales done. In a week. He felt embarrassed and he hoped it wouldn’t go in his file or anything. He seriously had no idea what possessed him to just ruin his own chances at winning.

     Then again, in the back of his mind, he knew damn well what his deal was. Kim fucking Yugyeom.

     Jinyoung clears his throat and stands up. This is way too serious. “I’m honestly surprised by the outcome of the bet,” Hearing that, Bambam knows all too well he lost. “Congrats, Yugyeom. You just won yourself a date with our very own Bambam!”

     The winner leaps from his chair and throws his fist in the air, celebrating his victory. His feet are skipping off the ground with little steps, it makes Bambam deem the whole thing kind of worth it. He can see how his friend is repressing a scream and how brightly his eyes are shining. He must have worked really hard this week in comparison to him. He really wanted to win, apparently.

     Yugyeom is about to storm off in excitement before he turns around and asks Bambam to clear his schedule for the day after tomorrow. “Also, dress fancy, but sort of casual too, ‘kay?” He gives him a tiny smile, then disappears behind the door.

     Bambam isn’t disappointed about the results. It was a given that it would unfold like that, but it still made him feel kind of weird. What would a real date with his best friend be like? He didn’t know what to expect. Yugyeom is unpredictable. Even after knowing him for his whole life, he still can’t figure him out most of the time. He acts on impulse, he talks without thinking and he just doesn’t care. And yes, maybe that’s what makes him so attractive and yes, that’s what made Bambam fall in love with him.

     He doesn’t exactly when he fell head over heels for his best friend, but it went back to two or three years back. It was simple really, Yugyeom acted like a fool and it was almost automatic; his heart dropped to his feet and he could only think of one thing, “I love that boy.”

     Bambam sighed and got up from his seat. “See you later, boss.” He wants to leave the office but something’s stopping him from doing so. His eyes end up on his arm where Jinyoung’s fingers are wrapped around. He questions him by cocking his head to the side.

     “Are you alright?” Jinyoung’s voice sounds concerned and his face shows nothing but worry. Bambam laughs, but he doesn’t try to move. “With the date, I mean.”

     Now it makes more sense, he thinks. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

     Jinyoung lets go of his arm and shakes his shoulder. “I don’t know, maybe because you’ve been sitting in that chair for fifteen minutes, not saying anything and staring into the void like some zombie?”

     “You’re not my dad, you know,” He doesn’t try to be mean, but it’s like Jinyoung’s face brings the sarcasm out of him. He can’t help himself. “Sorry. I’m nervous, I guess.”

     Jinyoung looks at him fondly. It makes Bambam cringe physically. “It’s okay. Just don’t go around breaking each other’s heart, yeah?”

     Bambam waves his hand and chuckles. They’re going be alright. They have to, they’re best friends. Right?

* * *

 

     Jaebeom’s week was going horribly. It’s like the universe was punishing him for making a boy like Youngjae cry. That, or he was subconsciously sabotaging himself. He dropped his cup of coffee on himself twice in the span of three days, which made Jackson laugh really hard.

     “You remind me of Namjoon.” He said, before realizing who he was talking about and giving up on making fun of him.

     Then, he messed up most of the work he had to get done. He miscalculated and mixed up numbers and generally did a bad job. It was getting on his nerves, he was angry. In a fit of rage, he broke his chair. When he complained about it to Jinyoung, the latter said that they were on a budget and couldn’t afford a new chair for now.

     Jaebeom filed at least fifteen complaints forms in a week alone. Half of them directed to corporate and Jinyoung, the other half to himself. Mark must think he is crazy. But he doesn’t care. Jaebeom just wants to see Youngjae walk out of that damn elevator, completely ignore him and sit down at his desk to do his work. He is starting to think that Youngjae won’t be back. Maybe he quit, maybe he got transferred to another branch hours away from here. Maybe he ran away because of him. Because he kissed him when he was still vulnerable.

     Lim Jaebeom was actually going insane.

     The next Monday he arrived at the office first. He didn’t expect Youngjae to come back, it had just become the routine to sit down and stare at the hall from his desk. He watches everyone come in one by one. Jinyoung entered his office in a hurry, not even bothering greeting Jaebeom.  Bambam and Yugyeom were just behind him, running and fighting all the way to Jinyoung’s office. Mark walked in so slowly, no emotion detectable on his face. He uttered a quick hello to him and sat almost right beside Jaebeom, at his own desk.

     Jaebeom was about to give up until a familiar face popped out of the elevator. His face was a normal colour, it wasn’t pale anymore. He had his work clothes on, which meant he was coming back for good, he wasn’t just dropping by. He looked stunning. Even dressed casually, with his long black hair falling into his eyes, he looked beautiful. It just helped confirm his feelings for the boy.

     He just watched as Youngjae made his way to his desk, waving to Mark in the process. Jaebeom wanted to stand up, scream, grab the boy’s hand or just talk to him. Anything. He couldn’t do it, though. He could only stay there and stare at him. He truly is a coward.

     He forces himself to look away. At least now he’ll be able to concentrate on his work, he thinks. But that’s not the case. His head feels heavy and he can’t stop thinking about Youngjae. He can’t stop his mind from wandering to the boy again and again. He tries to concentrate on the numbers on his computer, he tries to stop his head from turning to his left. He tries so hard, yet he still fails greatly. He can’t help himself.

     He grabs his coffee and contemplates the idea of pouring it on his head. Maybe then it’d change his mind. When he decides against it, he extends his arm to place it back on the wooden desk, only to go not far enough and drop it all over his shirt and pants. He’s lucky, the coffee wasn’t burning hot, just warm enough to make it hurt a bit.

     He screams in surprise and curses. He looks around the room and every eye is on him. Jackson, beside him, grins. “Is your curse still effective? This is the third time, now.” Jaebeom glares at him, his chin sticking out dangerously.

     “Shut up, please.” He’s embarrassed. He ignores the weird look Youngjae is giving him and walks to the bathroom to try to clean himself a bit.

     Ten minutes later and there’s still no result. His white shirt is going to stay brown forever, and his pants are going to remain stained as well. He strips out of his clothes to let them dry, thinking about the outfit he had in his car and lent to Youngjae that time. Did the boy keep the clothes? He never saw them again after he gave them to him. He doesn’t really care, it’s just that he feels awfully exposed and naked right now. He’s about to just wear his clothes while they’re still wet when someone carefully enters the room.

     “Can I come in?” Youngjae is hiding his eyes with his palm, already standing directly next to Jaebeom.

     He suppresses a laugh. “Sure.”

     Youngjae lowers his hand and opens his eyes, only to be met with a half-naked Jaebeom. He screams and turns around. “Sorry!”

     Jaebeom seems to realize his attire just now too, but he can’t find it in him to care. “It’s alright, I don’t mind.” He says, noticing how wrong it is of him to say that. What if he takes it the wrong way and thinks he is flirting? After the kiss happened, he didn’t want to make any more mistakes.   

     Youngjae remains at his place and hands him a pile of clothes. Jaebeom recognizes the pink shirt and skinny jeans he lent to him when Macaroni threw up on him. He smiles and takes them from him. “Thanks…you didn’t have to.”

     This time it’s Youngjae who has to stop himself from laughing. “They’re yours after all. I’m just returning them.”

     Jaebeom suddenly becomes aware of the fact that, no, Youngjae wasn’t helping him, he was only returning what he was given in the past. “Oh.” Is all he can find to answer.

     Youngjae nervously shifts from one feet to the other. Jaebeom thinks he’s going to say something, but he doesn’t. He walks out of the bathroom, leaving Jaebeom alone to get changed.

* * *

 

     Youngjae thought he could do it. He thought he could look in Jaebeom’s eyes and talk to him like nothing ever happened. But he is a coward and he can’t even talk to him without stuttering. When he exits the bathroom, his feet take him automatically to Mark’s desk, where the older man is pretending to work.

     “Hyung, can I talk to you?” The blonde man nods and stands up to follow Youngjae to the break room.

     “What’s up?” He asks, opening the fridge.

     “Let’s say you just got out of a really bad relationship with a guy, okay? Then, like hours after that happened, another guy brings you to his house and kisses you out of nowhere, right after you just explained to him said bad relationship,” He pauses, waiting for a reaction, but Mark is just nodding along, pulling out lunches of the fridge. He continues, “You let him kiss you, but you panic when you think that this is your friend, right? So you run out and ignore the guy for a full week, without even coming to work. What would you do from then on?”

     It’s way too detailed to not be obviously about himself, but Mark doesn’t comment on it. He starts eating Bambam’s lunch, thinking about what he was told. Youngjae waits patiently, wondering if he’s going to make fun of his stupid actions or straight up ignore the whole deal. He trusts Mark, though. He knows he wouldn’t try to make him feel even worse than he already is.

     After a few minutes, his friend finally says something. “Does the guy who initiated the kiss have feelings for the other?” Youngjae doesn’t know. He has no idea what Jaebeom’s feelings are.

     “I don’t know, maybe?” Mark nods.

     “And do you like him?” That question takes him aback. He doesn’t know what to answer, yet again. Does Youngjae like Jaebeom? Does he feel like his heart beats too fast when he is around him? Does he feel nervous and sweaty when they are too close? It’s like asking him if he’s breathing right now. Though he doesn’t answer, Mark gets the message by the silence between them. “Listen, Youngjae-ah. I don’t care who you end up with, as long as it’s someone who makes you happy. If you can be with someone who cares about you and treat you right, then fine by me, I’ll support you,” he stops and takes Youngjae’s hand in his.

     “Seeing you with Minhyuk was worse than hell. Do you even know how many times I had to stop myself from beating his ass on sight?” Youngjae laughs, although maybe he shouldn’t be. “Literally anyone would be a better pick than that piece of trash. But you know who would be great at treating you like you deserve?”

     “You?” Mark chuckles and agrees. Of course, Mark would be the greatest boyfriend ever. But they both know that’s not the issue here.

     “That guy.” He points behind Youngjae, where Jaebeom is sitting in a fresh pink shirt, on the other side of the window. Youngjae feels Mark squeeze his hand and give him a reassuring look. Mark was always great at reading situations and between the lines. It doesn’t come as a surprise when he guesses Jaebeom is the cause of Youngjae’s confusion. “Now, you’ve got time to figure everything out. Take as much as you need, but don’t let one person take away your chance at happiness, ‘kay? That’s all I ask of you.”

     “Thanks, hyung. I love you.” He truly loves his hyung with his whole heart and he is more than grateful for his help.

     “Love you too.” He hugs him and lets him get back on the work he missed in the last week. Youngjae feels less heavy after the conversation and it shows by the smile he wears all the way to his desk.

     He needs a bit more of time, but he knows what he wants, now.

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter coming up soooon


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